Video Service Blackout Events

ABSTRACT

A method is disclosed that includes receiving a command to blackout a full screen version of content at a component of a multimedia content distribution system. The method includes updating a first entry within a control matrix to reflect that the full screen version of the content is to be blacked out. The method also includes automatically updating a second entry within the control matrix to reflect that a picture-in-picture (PIP) version of the content is to be blacked out.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is generally related to video service blackoutevents.

BACKGROUND

Media service providers, such as television service providers, acquirecontent from content providers, such as television networks, anddistribute the content to subscribers. Some content is subject to accessrestrictions, such as blackouts. Typically, conditional access events,such as blackouts, are scheduled manually by a media service provider.This can make conditional access scheduling labor-intensive and prone toerror, especially for picture-in-picture video services.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a particular embodiment of a system torestrict access to media content;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a second particular embodiment of a systemto restrict access to media content;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method ofcreating a control matrix for use with at least one embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary control stream;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary control matrix suitable for insertioninto or operable to be derived from a control stream;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an exemplary method of scheduling andupdating picture-in-picture services for blackout events;

FIG. 7 is a general diagram of an illustrative embodiment of a videostream that includes blackout information; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an illustrative embodiment of a generalcomputer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In a particular embodiment, a method is disclosed and includes receivinga command to blackout a full screen version of content at a component ofa multimedia content distribution system. The method also includesupdating a first entry within a control matrix to reflect that the fullscreen version of the content is to be blacked out. The method alsoincludes automatically updating a second entry within the control matrixto reflect that a picture-in-picture (PIP) version of the content is tobe blacked out.

In another particular embodiment, a system is disclosed that includes auser interface. The system also includes a control system operativelycoupled to the user interface. The control system is adapted to receivea command to blackout a full screen version of content at a component ofa multimedia content delivery platform. The control system is furtheradapted to update a first entry within a control matrix to reflect thatthe full screen version of the content is to be blacked out. The controlsystem is adapted to automatically update a second entry within thecontrol matrix to reflect that a picture-in-picture (PIP) version of thecontent is to be blacked out.

In another particular embodiment, a method is disclosed that includesreceiving a command to blackout a first version of content at a mediadistribution system. The method also includes generating first controldata to blackout the first version of the content distributed by themedia distribution system in a blackout geographic region. The methodalso includes automatically generating second control data to blackout asecond version of the content distributed by the media distributionsystem in the blackout geographic region.

Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a particular embodiment of asystem to restrict access to media content is illustrated and designatedgenerally 100. The system includes a plurality of integratedreceiver-decoders (IRDs) 102 that communicate with a proxy server 108.Each IRD 102 also communicates with an acquisition server (A-server) 106via an encoder 104. The proxy server 108 communicates with a servicedelivery platform (SDP) 110. Further, the SDP 110 communicates with aplurality of video head-ends 112-116. Each video head-end is adapted todistribute media to client devices (such as a set top box or othernetwork appliance) within a particular geographical area. In oneembodiment, the proxy server 108 and the SDP 110 are included in aconditional access provisioning system of a video distribution network,such as an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) network. Alternatively,the proxy server 108 can be integrated with the SDP 110.

In a particular embodiment, each IRD 102 serves a plurality ofgeographic areas via the video head-ends 112-116. Each IRD 102 receivesa media content stream corresponding to a particular television channel,such as a video content channel or music content channel. In anillustrative embodiment, the media content stream can be a MovingPicture Experts Group (MPEG) stream that includes video content, audiocontent, other media content, or a combination thereof. In addition,each IRD 102 receives a command via a control stream related to deliveryof media content received via the media content stream. Each IRD 102 isadapted to determine whether the control stream includes data indicatingthat the media content is subject to an access restriction, such as ablackout, a limitation on access to users associated with a particularsubscription level, a limitation on access to users who pay for mediacontent corresponding to the media content stream, or a combinationthereof.

Each IRD 102 is adapted to send its control stream to the SDP 110 viathe proxy server 108, when the control stream includes data indicatingthat the media content is subject to one or more access restrictions.Further, each IRD 102 is adapted to send the media content stream to theencoder 104. The encoder 104 is adapted to encode the content portionfor transmission via the video distribution network by the A-server 106that corresponds to the television channel.

The SDP 110 is adapted to parse the control stream into data elementsand to derive conditional access information from the parsed dataelements. The conditional access information can include a geographicalarea in which the media content is to be restricted, a subscriber groupto whom the media content is to be restricted, a start time of therestriction, an end time of the restriction, a type of restriction, achannel or virtual channel affected by the restriction, or anycombination thereof. In an illustrative embodiment, a geographical areacan be indicated by a geographical region code (GRC). The SDP 110 isadapted to automatically schedule a conditional access event at a videohead-end associated with the geographical area(s) in which the mediacontent is to be restricted, such as the video head-end 112. The SDP 110can call a scheduling application programming interface (API) at thesuper head-end (SHE) 122 and interact with the scheduling API toschedule the conditional access event for main streams sent to clientdevices, secondary streams (e.g., picture-in-picture streams), or acombination thereof. In one embodiment, the conditional accessinformation can indicate that the media content is to be restricted inmultiple geographical areas, and the SDP 110 can be adapted toautomatically schedule the conditional access event at a plurality ofvideo head-ends, such as all of the video head-ends 112-116.

In a particular embodiment, the conditional access information canindicate that the media content subject to a restriction is to bereplaced with substitute content. The conditional access information canidentify the substitute content. The conditional access information canalso identify the primary content (i.e., the media content subject tothe restriction), a channel that would otherwise deliver the primarycontent, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the conditionalaccess information can identify the primary content, the substitutecontent, or any combination thereof, as one or more virtual channels.The SDP 110 is adapted to determine an acquisition point of thesubstitute content, such as a particular acquisition server associatedwith a virtual channel corresponding to the substitute content.

Additionally, the SDP 110 is adapted to automatically schedule thesubstitution at the SHE 122. In an illustrative embodiment, the SDP 110is adapted to create a substitution table at the SHE 122, where thesubstitution table maps the primary content to the substitute content.The substitution table can also indicate the acquisition point of thesubstitute content, such as another acquisition server 106. For example,as shown in FIG. 1, a first substitution table 118 for a first channel(e.g., channel 602) can indicate that a primary service (e.g., ESPN)provided by a first acquisition server is to be replaced with asecondary service (e.g., ESPN ALT 4) provided by another fifthacquisition server. In another embodiment, the substitution table 118can map a start time, end time, and channel to the substitute content.

In a particular embodiment, the SDP 110 is adapted to receive secondcontrol stream data related to television programming or other mediacontent that is subject to the scheduled conditional access event. TheSDP 110 parses the second control stream data and derives conditionalaccess update information from the parsed second control stream data.The conditional access update information indicates that a previouslyscheduled conditional access event is to be deleted or modified. Forexample, the conditional access update information can indicate that ablackout is no longer applicable to a particular television program orthat certain users can receive a blacked out program. In anotherexample, the update information can indicate that a start time of theblackout, an end time of the blackout, substitute content to bedelivered during the blackout, one or more geographical areas to whichthe blackout applies, or any combination thereof, have been updated.

The SDP 110 is adapted to identify a previously scheduled conditionalaccess event to which the update information applies. Further, the SDP110 is adapted to automatically modify or delete the scheduledconditional access event at the SHE 122 at which the conditional accessevent was scheduled. In a particular embodiment, the SDP 110 logsreceipt of the update information. For instance, a SDP database canstore data indicating that update information has been received, a timeat which the update information was received, at least a portion of thecontents of the update information, or a combination thereof.

In an illustrative embodiment, the SDP 110 can be adapted to determinewhether the update information derived from the second control streamdata indicates that substitute content associated with the conditionalaccess event is to be modified or deleted (i.e., when the conditionalaccess event no longer applies). If the substitute content is to bemodified or deleted, the SDP 110 can be adapted to automatically call asubstitution API at the SHE 122 to modify or delete a substitution tableassociated with the conditional access event (e.g., substitution table118).

Referring to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a second particular embodimentof a system to restrict access to media content is illustrated anddesignated generally 200. The system includes a service deliveryplatform (SDP) 202 that communicates with a video super head end (SHE)222 via a proxy system 218. Alternatively, the proxy system 218 can beintegrated with the SDP 202. The SHE 222 communicates with at least onecontent provider 220. Further, the SDP 202 communicates with a pluralityof video head-ends (VHEs) 228. Each of the VHEs 228 serves media contentto client devices such as set top boxes (STBs) 232 of a videodistribution system within a particular geographical area.

In one embodiment, the content provider 220 sends a media content streamto the SHE 222. If the content provider 220 determines that the mediacontent is subject to a conditional access restriction, the contentprovider 220 also sends a control stream to the SHE 222. The controlstream includes parsable control data indicating at least onegeographical area or other subscriber group for which access to themedia content is to be restricted.

In an illustrative embodiment, the SHE 222 includes a plurality ofintegrated receiver-decoders (IRDs) 224. Each IRD 224 is coupled to oneof a plurality of acquisition servers (A-servers) 226. In a particularembodiment, each IRD 224 is adapted to receive a media content streamassociated with a different channel or virtual channel from a contentprovider, such as the content provider 220, and to deliver correspondingmedia content to client devices via the video distribution system. In anillustrative embodiment, the media content stream is a Moving PictureExperts Group (MPEG) stream. Each IRD 224 sends media content associatedwith a received media content stream to an A-server 226 to which it iscoupled. Each A-server 226 can distribute the media content to one ormore of the VHEs 228 for delivery to client devices in one of aplurality of geographical areas served by the VHEs 228.

Further, each IRD 224 is adapted to receive a control stream related todelivery of media content received via its media content stream. EachIRD 224 is adapted to determine whether the control stream includes dataindicating that the media content associated with the media contentstream is subject to one or more access restrictions, such as ablackout, a limitation on access to users associated with a particularsubscription level, a limitation on access to users who pay for mediacontent corresponding to the media content stream, or a combinationthereof. The IRD 224 is adapted to send the control stream to the SDP202 via the proxy system 218, when the control stream includes dataindicating that the media content is subject to one or more accessrestrictions.

The SDP 202 includes processing logic 204 and memory 206 accessible tothe processing logic 204. The memory 206 includes a plurality of modules208-216 that are adapted to provide various functions of the SDP 202with respect to automatically provisioning conditional access withrespect to media content. The modules 208-216 can include data stores,hardware logic, instructions executable by the processing logic 204,such as instructions included in one or more computer programs oroperating systems, or any combination thereof.

For example, in the embodiment shown, the memory 206 includes a controlmodule 208 that is executable by the processing logic 204 to receivecontrol streams from the IRDs 224 via the proxy system 218. Further, thecontrol module 208 is executable by the processing logic 204 to parseeach control stream and to derive conditional access information fromthe parsed control stream. The conditional access information mayinclude a geographical area in which the media content is to berestricted, a subscriber group to which the media content is to berestricted, a start time of the restriction, an end time of therestriction, a type of restriction, a channel affected by therestriction, substitute content to replace the restricted media content,or any combination thereof. In an illustrative embodiment, thegeographical area can be indicated by a geographical region code (GRC).

In the embodiment shown, the memory 206 also includes a SDP database 210to log receipt of control stream data indicating a conditional accessevent. For instance, the SDP database 210 can store data indicating thatthe control stream data was received, a time at which the control streamdata was received, at least a portion of the conditional accessinformation, or any combination thereof.

In the embodiment shown, the memory 206 includes an event schedulemodule 212 that is executable by the processing logic 204 toautomatically schedule a conditional access event at the SHE 222.Geographies may be predefined to accounts by API calls to the VHEs 228to group the accounts accordingly. From the VHEs 228, the grouping dataflows to the accounts in advance of a substitution event. In oneembodiment, the conditional access information can indicate that themedia content is to be restricted in multiple geographical areas, andthe event schedule module 212 is executable by the processing logic 204to automatically schedule the conditional access event at the SHE 222.For example, the media content can be subject to a blackout in multiplegeographical areas. In another embodiment, the event schedule module 212is executable by the processing logic 204 to schedule a plurality ofdifferent types of conditional access event at the SHE 222. Forinstance, the media content can be subject to a blackout in a firstgeographical area and restricted to paying users or users associatedwith a certain subscription level in another geographical area. In aparticular embodiment, the memory 206 can include a VHE reference module213 to store data indicating which of the VHEs 228 is associated with aparticular geographical area.

In an exemplary embodiment, the SDP 202 further includes a userinterface 230 including a keyboard, mouse, display, and/or other devicesthrough which an operator may review and/or edit information passingthrough or resident on the SDP 202, including information from controlstreams sent to the SDP 202 from the SHE 222 from the content provider220. An operator may use the user interface 230 to manually overrideautomated processes instigated by the processing logic 204 in responseto control streams, to fix problems that may have occurred in theautomated processes, or merely to monitor ongoing automated processes asdesired.

In a particular embodiment, the conditional access information canindicate that the media content subject to a restriction is to bereplaced with substitute content. The conditional access information canidentify the substitute content. The conditional access information canalso identify the primary content (i.e., the media content subject tothe restriction), a channel that would otherwise deliver the primarycontent, or any combination thereof. The memory 206 may include asubstitute module 214 that is executable by the processing logic 204 todetermine an acquisition point of the substitute content, such as aparticular acquisition server 226, and to schedule the substitution atone or more of the video head-ends 228.

In an illustrative embodiment, the substitute module 214 is executableby the processing logic 204 to create a substitution table at one ormore video head-ends 228, where the substitution table maps the primarycontent to the substitute content. The mapping may be accomplished byproviding an IPTV API with one or more global unique identifiers (GUIDs)that identify the IPTV Services which are substitutable for one another.In another embodiment, the substitution table can map a start time, endtime, and channel to the substitute content.

In a particular embodiment, the control module 208 is executable by theprocessing logic 204 to receive second control stream data related totelevision programming or other media content that is subject to thescheduled conditional access event. The control module 208 is executableby the processing logic 204 to parse the second control stream data andderive conditional access update information from the parsed secondcontrol stream data. The conditional access update information includesdata indicating that a previously scheduled conditional access event isto be deleted or modified. For example, the conditional access updateinformation can indicate that a blackout is no longer applicable to aparticular television program or that certain users can receive ablacked out program. In another example, the update information canindicate that a start time of the blackout, an end time of the blackout,substitute content to be delivered during the blackout, one or moregeographical areas to which the blackout applies, or any combinationthereof, have been updated.

In the embodiment shown, the memory 206 includes an update module 216that is executable by the processing logic 204 to identify a previouslyscheduled conditional access event to which the update informationapplies. For instance, the previously scheduled conditional access eventcan be retrieved from the SDP database 210, or the conditional accessupdate information can indicate the previously scheduled conditionalaccess event. The update module 216 is executable by the processinglogic 204 to automatically modify or delete the scheduled conditionalaccess event at the SHE 222. In a particular embodiment, the SDPdatabase 210 logs receipt of the update information. For instance, theSDP database 210 can store data indicating that update information hasbeen received, when the update information was received, at least aportion of the contents of the update information, or any combinationthereof.

In an illustrative embodiment, the control module 208 is executable bythe processing logic 204 to determine whether the update informationderived from the second control stream data indicates that substitutecontent associated with the conditional access event is to be modifiedor deleted (i.e., when the conditional access event no longer applies).If the substitute content is to be modified or deleted, the updatemodule 216 is executable by the processing logic 204 to automaticallycall a substitution application programming interface (API) at the SHE222 to modify or delete a substitution table associated with theconditional access event.

Referring to FIG. 3, a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of amethod of creating a control matrix is illustrated generally, at 300.The operator may establish a channel matrix that maps content from aparticular content provider to a particular channel stream that theoperator is to provide at 302. For example, a first channel stream maybe on channel one, a second channel stream on channel two, a thirdchannel stream on channel three, a fourth channel stream on channelfour, and so on. In an exemplary embodiment, each particular channelstream is a full screen service for its content. For each full screenstream, the operator may further establish a picture-in-picture (PIP)stream, at 304. Thus, each channel has at least two effective channelswithin the channel matrix, namely a full screen stream and apicture-in-picture stream.

The operator may then link the full screen stream to thepicture-in-picture stream for each channel stream within the channelmatrix, at 306. In an exemplary embodiment, the link is a pointer thatpoints to the picture-in-picture stream. Other links are alsocontemplated by the present disclosure. Based on the channel matrix socreated, the operator may create a control matrix that maps controlinformation to each of the channels within the channel matrix, at 308.The control matrix may then be distributed to the video head ends fordistribution to the client devices (such as the subscriber set top boxes232 of FIG. 2). While full screen and picture-in-picture streams arespecifically contemplated, the disclosure is not so limited. Rather,this sort of linking and automatic updating may be applied to otherstreams sharing content, or other versions of the same content such aswhere a first version of the content is larger than a second version ofthe content (e.g., split screen ⅔ and ⅓ or the like).

Referring to FIG. 4, an exemplary control matrix 400 is illustrated. Thecontrol matrix 400 includes multiple cells 402 arranged into rows 404and columns 406. For example, in the embodiment shown, the controlmatrix 400 is a sixty-four by sixty-four grid of cells 402.Alternatively, the control matrix 400 may be up to 32 services×256geographies. Each cell 402 is adapted to hold control information aboutan associated channel. Thus cell 402 _(1,1) may correspond to the cellin the first row 404, first column 406 position while cell 402 _(64,64)may correspond to the cell in the last row 404, last column 406position. Cell 402 _(1,1) may further correspond to a full screen streamservice and cell 402 _(1,2) may correspond to a picture-in-picturestream service. Note that such designations are for the sake of example,and the operator may design a control matrix based on content beingprovided, content provider requirements or other criteria, as desired.

Control matrix 400 may readily be ported to an exemplary control stream500, as illustrated in FIG. 5. However, a control stream 500 is a onedimensional element, and the two-dimensional control matrix 400 of FIG.4 is disassembled from the two-dimensional form and reassembled into alinear, one dimensional form. One manner in which this reassembly may bedone is to put the rows of the control matrix 400 end-to-end. Thus, thecontrol stream 500 may include cells 502 that map to cells 402 of thecontrol matrix 400. Further, groups 504 correspond to the rows 404 asreferenced in FIG. 4. A metagroup 506 of cells 502 may form a singleretune message sent to set top boxes or other network devices within theIPTV network described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. As noted above,set top boxes within the IPTV system are programmed to parse the controlstream 500 to determine control information about channels beingstreamed to the set top box. For example, the set top box may beprogrammed to look in cell 502 _(1,1) for control information about thefull screen stream. Such programming may be invoked each time thecustomer tunes his television or set top box to the full screen stream.

By having a predefined control matrix and links between the full screenversions and picture-in-picture versions of content channels, it may beeasier to update blackout information for content as illustrated byexemplary method 600 of FIG. 6. A control system of an operator (e.g,processing logic 204 as programmed by control module 208 described abovewith reference to FIG. 2) receives a transmission event schedule for oneor more channels from a content provider, at 602.

The operator receives blackout information from the content providerrelating to the transmission event schedule, at 604. As noted above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the content provider may initially providethis information in the form of a control stream sent to an IRD 102 orSHE 222. This blackout information may be sent electronically andconform to some predetermined format that allows the control system ofthe operator to automatically parse the message and update the fullscreen entry in the control matrix with the blackout information at 606.For example, if a content provider informs the operator that the DUKEvs. GEORGIA TECH basketball game is to be blacked out in Nebraska, theoperator may parse that information and update cell 402 _(1,1) in thecontrol matrix of FIG. 4.

The control system may then detect or refer to the link (see block 306of FIG. 3) and update the picture-in-picture entry in the controlmatrix, at 608. Continuing the above example, the control system updatesa cell 402, such as cell 402 _(1,2) in the control matrix 400 of FIG. 4.The control system may then distribute the updated control matrix to settop boxes in the control stream, (e.g., STBs 232 of FIG. 2), at 610. Thecontrol matrix may be distributed to set top boxes within particulargeographic areas that are affected by a change or the information in thecontrol message may have geographic information included therein suchthat the set top box may evaluate the geographic information anddetermine whether a change applies to the particular set top box.

Referring to FIG. 7, a general diagram of an illustrative embodiment ofa control stream being used to implement a blackout event is illustratedand designated generally 700. The control stream 700 includes aplurality of retune messages sent, for example, at ten second intervals.For example, the control stream 700 includes one or more first retunemessages 702 indicating that primary media content, such as mediacontent associated with a virtual channel (VC) 1000, is to be deliveredto a geographic area corresponding to a multicast address (MA) 253. Inone embodiment, one or more particular integrated receiver-decoders(IRDs) at a video super head-end can be associated with the multicastaddress 253, where the IRD(s) are allocated to the geographic area.

In addition, the control stream 700 includes a plurality of secondretune messages 704 indicating that the geographic area corresponding tothe multicast address 253 is to receive substitute content associatedwith a second virtual channel 1001, beginning at a blackout start time706 and ending at a blackout end time 708. In one embodiment, the secondretune messages 704 can occur within the control stream 700 atten-second intervals, beginning one minute prior to the blackout starttime 706.

During a period between the blackout start time 706 and the blackout endtime 708, a plurality of third retune messages 710 indicate that thegeographic area corresponding to the multicast address 253 is to receivemedia content associated with the virtual channel 1001. In addition, thefourth retune messages 712 indicate that the geographic areacorresponding to the multicast address 253 is to begin receiving mediacontent associated with the virtual channel 1000 at the blackout endtime 708. The fourth retune messages can occur within the control stream700, for example, at ten second intervals beginning one minute beforethe blackout end time 708.

Thus, a content provider provides its control stream to a super head-end(e.g., SHE 222 of FIG. 2), which passes the information in the controlstream 700 to service a delivery platform (e.g. SDP 202 of FIG. 2).Processing logic parses the control stream into a control matrix (e.g.,control matrix 400 of FIG. 4). The control matrix is reformatted into acontrol stream (e.g., control stream 500 of FIG. 5) and sent to one ormore set top boxes (e.g., STBs 232 of FIG. 2). Because the informationin the control stream is updated with some regularity as contentproviders provide updates as to blackout events and the like, thecontrol stream is updated and resent to the set top boxes. This processof updating and resending the control stream is illustrated by thecontrol stream 700 of FIG. 7.

In conjunction with the configuration of structure provided herein, asystem and method of restricting access to media content are provided inwhich automated, software-based scheduling and execution of blackoutsand other conditional access events occur based on a control stream thatis received and parsed at a service delivery platform or otherconditional access provisioning system of a video distribution network,such as an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) network. In otherembodiments, the system and method can be applied to a cable network, asatellite dish network, or other video distribution network adapted todeliver video traffic via similar architectures.

Referring to FIG. 8, an illustrative embodiment of a general computersystem is shown and is designated 800. The computer system 800 caninclude a set of instructions that can be executed to cause the computersystem 800 to perform any one or more of the methods or computer basedfunctions disclosed herein. The computer system 800 may operate as astandalone device or may be connected, e.g., using a network, to othercomputer systems or peripheral devices.

In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 800 can alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesstelephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a web appliance, orany other machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequentialor otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In aparticular embodiment, the computer system 800 can be implemented usingelectronic devices that provide video, audio, or data communication.Further, while a single computer system 800 is illustrated, the term“system” shall also be taken to include any collection of systems orsub-systems that individually or jointly execute a set, or multiplesets, of instructions to perform one or more computer functions.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the computer system 800 may include aprocessor 802, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both. Moreover, the computer system 800 caninclude a main memory 804 and a static memory 806, which can communicatewith each other via a bus 808. As shown, the computer system 800 mayfurther include a video display unit 810, such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a projection television system, a flat panel display, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT). Additionally, thecomputer system 800 may include an input device 812, such as a keyboard,and a cursor control device 814, such as a mouse. The computer system800 can also include a disk drive unit 816, a signal generation device818, such as a speaker or remote control, and a network interface device820.

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 8, the disk drive unit816 may include a computer-readable medium 822 in which one or more setsof instructions 824, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions 824 may embody one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions 824 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the main memory 804,the static memory 806, and/or within the processor 802 during executionby the computer system 800. The main memory 804 and the processor 802also may include computer-readable media.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system encompasses software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedembodiment, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions 824 or receives and executes instructions 824responsive to a propagated signal, so that a device connected to anetwork 826 can communicate voice, video or data over the network 826.Further, the instructions 824 may be transmitted or received over thenetwork 826 via the network interface device 820.

While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, theterm “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiplemedia, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associatedcaches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution bya processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or moreof the methods or operations disclosed herein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered equivalent to atangible storage medium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered toinclude any one or more of a computer-readable medium and otherequivalents and successor media, in which data or instructions may bestored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the disclosed embodiments are notlimited to such standards and protocols. For example, standards forInternet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP,UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) represent examples of the state of the art. Suchstandards are periodically superseded by faster or more efficientequivalents having essentially the same functions. Accordingly,replacement standards and protocols having the same or similar functionsas those disclosed herein are considered equivalents thereof.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Accordingly, the disclosure and the figures are to be regarded asillustrative rather than restrictive.

One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover,although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided and is submitted with theunderstanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scopeor meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, various features may be grouped together or described in asingle embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. Thisdisclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that theclaimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited ineach claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subjectmatter may be directed to less than all of the features of any of thedisclosed embodiments. Thus, the following claims are incorporated intothe Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own asdefining separately claimed subject matter.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

1. A method, comprising: receiving a command to blackout a full screenversion of content at a component of a multimedia content distributionsystem; updating a first entry within a control matrix to reflect thatthe full screen version of the content is to be blacked out; andautomatically updating a second entry within the control matrix toreflect that a picture-in-picture (PIP) version of the content is to beblacked out.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishingthe control matrix based at least on input from a content provider. 3.The method of claim 1, further comprising distributing the controlmatrix to at least one set top box.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereindistributing the control matrix comprises distributing the controlmatrix to a selected set of set top box devices based on a geographicconstraint.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving amessage from a content provider that the content is to be blacked outand processing the message to generate the command.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising establishing a full screen service as afirst data stream over which the full screen version of the content isto be broadcast and establishing a PIP service as a second data streamover which the PIP version of the content is to be broadcast.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, further comprising establishing a link between thefull screen service and the PIP service.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein establishing the link comprises establishing a pointer from thefull screen service to the PIP service.
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein automatically updating the second entry comprises using the linkto find an entry in the control matrix corresponding to the PIP service.10. The method of claim 1, wherein the multimedia content distributionsystem comprises an internet protocol television (IPTV) system.
 11. Asystem, comprising: a user interface; and a control system operativelycoupled to the user interface and adapted to receive a command toblackout a full screen version of content at a component of a multimediacontent delivery platform, update a first entry within a control matrixto reflect that the full screen version of the content is to be blackedout, and automatically update a second entry within the control matrixto reflect that a picture-in-picture (PIP) version of the content is tobe blacked out.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the multimediacontent delivery platform comprises an internet protocol television(IPTV) system.
 13. A method, comprising: receiving a command to blackouta first version of content at a media distribution system; generatingfirst control data to blackout the first version of the contentdistributed by the media distribution system in a blackout geographicregion; and automatically generating second control data to blackout asecond version of the content distributed by the media distributionsystem in the blackout geographic region.
 14. The method of claim 13,wherein the first version comprises a full screen version of the contentdistributed by the media distribution system.
 15. The method of claim13, wherein the second version comprises a picture-in-picture version ofthe content distributed by the media distribution system.
 16. The methodof claim 13, further comprising distributing the first control data andthe second control data via a control matrix within a control stream.17. The method of claim 13, further comprising establishing a firstservice as a first data stream over which the first version of thecontent is to be broadcast and establishing a second service as a seconddata stream over which the second version of the content is to bebroadcast.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising establishing alink between the first service and the second service.
 19. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the first version comprises a larger screen versionthan the second version.
 20. The method of claim 13, wherein the mediadistribution system comprises an internet protocol (IPTV) system.